Boiler-flue cleaner



' 0. s. DEAN. BOILER PLUE CLEANER.

vPatented 0013424 (NoModelQ) Suva/Vio; l .en/w.

I l H l Y mik. rmw u y .H WB a @X3i/humaan front end view of thecleaner.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

OYRUS S. DEAN, OF FORT ERIE, CANADA, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALF TO CHARLES O.RANO, OF BUFFALO, NEW YORK.

BolLER-FLUE CLEANER.

. SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 507,421, datedOctober 24, 1893. Application filed January 25,1893.V serial110.459.709. da model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that l, CYRUS S. DEAN, a subject of the Queen of GreatBritain, residing at Fort Erie, in the county of Welland, Province ofOntario, Canada, have invented certain new and useful Improvements inBoiler- Flue Cleaners; and I do hereby declare the following to be afull, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enableothers skilled in the art to which it appertains' to make and use thesame.

This invention relates to lue cleaners and aims to flll a long felt wantin the provision of a device which can be conveniently and easilyhandled and which will render easy the heretofore laborious Work ofcleaning boiler tubes and facilitate the process of removing the sootand scale from the tube and prevent the banking of the loosened matterin front of the cleaning tool.

The :invention consists of a shell to travel through the tube to becleaned provided with a rotary cutter, the shell confining the steam,compressed air or other propelling media and provided with an escapewhich directs the propelling media on the Wings or blades of the cutterto rotate the latter, the said propelling media escaping through thetube after rotating the cutter and carrying with it all the loosematter.

The invention also consists in outwardly moving wings or blades to fillthe space of the tube and impinge against theinner sides thereof toremove all scale and foreign matter.

The invention furtherconsists in a ball and socket'joint between thestem carrying the rotary cutter and the shell whereby the said stem canadapt itself to the tube without frictional binding.

The invention also further consists of the novel features and thepeculiar construction and combination of the parts which will behereinafter more fully described and claimed and which are shown in theannexed drawings, in whichd Figure l is a central longitudinal sectionof a flue and tube cleaner embodying my in- .vention showing theapplication of the same,

one of the wings being removed and the arm of another being brokenaway.L Flg. 2 1s a Fig. 3 lsa section on the line 3 3 of Fig. l lookingto the right. Fig. 4 is a section on the line 4 t of Fig. l looking tothe left. Fig. 5 shows a modification in which the jet strikes the ywingat or about right angles. Fig. 6 shows a modification in which the wingsor blades are moved outward by a spring pressure and a different way ofpivotally connecting the arms of the said wings with the head. Fig. 7 isa cross section on the line 7 7 of Fig. 6 looking tothe right.

The shell A is cylindrical and tapers at its inner or rear end to formthe reduced p ortion a which is threaded to receive the tube C by `meansof which the cleaner is operated and supplied with steam, compressed airor other media for propelling the rotary cutter which hereinafter willbe more particularly referred to. The shell A is generally constructedof less diameter than the tube for which it is designed and isprovidedon its exterior surface with longitudinal ribs a which touch the innersides of the tube to be cleaned and support the shell A within the saidtube. These ribs a also provide a space between the opposing sides ofthe tubeD and the shell A for the passage of air around the said shell Athereby obviating the production ofa vacunm in the rear of the saidshell A the formation of which would interfere with the successfuloperationv of the cleaner. These ribs a serve to strengthen theshellAand relieve the frictional contact between the shellAand the tubeD which would result if the shell A were of a size to fit within thetube D.

The rotary cutter is journaled within the shell A and the wings orbladesE are adapted to project beyond the sides of the shell and engagewith the inner side of the tube D to remove the soot and scale therefromby direct action. These wings or blades E are set obliquely, as shownmost clearly in Figs. l, and 5, and curve in their circumferentiallength, as shown in Fig. 2, and have arms e by means of which they arepivotally connected to a head F. The head F is composed of a disk havinga hub 4which is secured to a spindle Gf, and pairs of ears f betweenwhich the inner ends of the arm e are inserted and to which they arepivotally connected by means of pins f. The outer end of the spindle Gis provsl vided with a guide Il which in the present iustance iscomposed of a disk having notches h in its edge to receive the arms eand permit of the latter having a limited movement whereby the wings orblades E are adapted to move outward to engage with the inner sides ofthe tube D. The wings or blades E are attached to the arms e midway oftheir length, and the said arms c have connection with the said bladesat the inner edge, as shown most clearly in Fig. 1, thereby leaving theouter portion ot the wings or blades unobstructed so as to be acted uponby the steam or other propelling media issuing from the shell A.

The wings E are adapted to move outward by centrifugal action in therotation of the cutter, but a spring may be provided to press the sameoutwardly against the sides of the tube D whether the cleaner is inoperation or not.

In Fig 6 a spring l is shown interposed between the guide H and the arme as being the simplest form of arrangement. Obviously any form ofspring that will effect the desired result may be employed and the samemay be disposed as found most advantageous.

The purpose in having the wings or blades E to move outward is to havethem adapt themselves to the size of the tube to be cleaned and yield'when engaging with irregular portions in the tube as will be readilyunderstood. Any form of construction that will admit oftheoutwardmovementof the blades or wings may be devised, but I preferthe ar rangement herein shown and described because of the superiorresult. The arms e may be pivotally attached to the head F in anydesired manner and require pins in the form shown in Figs. 1 and 3. Asshown in Figs. 6 and 7 the pins are disregarded and hooks e are providedat the inner ends of the arms c which are adapted to embrace a raisedportion e2 on a sleeve which is placed on the spindle G, and a sleeve e3encircles the inner sleeve and retains the hooked ends e' in engagementwith the raised portion e2, the two sleeves e3 and e4 being suitablysecured to the spindle G.

A shell J is located within the shell A and is of less diameter toprovide a space between the opposing sides of the shells A and J for thepassage of steam or other media for propelling the rotary cutter. Thisshell J tapers slightly in its length and its outer end ilares slightlyas shown at 7' to provide a narrow passage for the escape of the steamor other media and direct the same against the outer portions of thewings or blades E. The inner end of the shell J is closed and centrallyapertured to permit the passage of the inner end of the spindle G. Aball and socket joint is provided between the inner end of the shell Jand the inner end of the spindle G. The ball is composed of two halves Kand K which are provided in their opposing faces with a circumferentialgroove to receive ball bearing k. The half K is secured tothe end of thespindle G and the half K is loosely mounted upon the said spindle G andobtains a bearing in a seat which is formed in the closed end ot theshell J. A cap L is tastened to the closed end of the shell J andcompletes the socket for the ball at the inner end of the spindle G. Theshell J is provided with projections j', as shown in Figs. 1, 8 and 4,to engage with the inner side of the shell A and hold the shell J inproper relation thereto. The screwsj2 for securing the two shells A andJ together pass through the shell A and enter the projections j providedon the shell J.

As shown in Fig. 1 the steam escapes from the shell A in a direct lineand striking the wings or blades E imparts a rotary motion thereto.media for propelling the rotary cutter may be deected and caused tostrike the wings or blades at right angles, as shown in Fig. 5. In thislatter construction short tubes will be provided and attached to theshell A and have their outer end bent to the required angle. The steamor other media for rotating the cutter in its passage to the tube D tobe cleaned carries along with it all the loose soot and scale removed bythe cutter thereby preventing the same banking in front ot the cleanerand impeding the progress and operation of the same.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim, and desire to secure.by Letters Patent, is-

l. A flue and tube cleaner comprising a shell, a rotary head locatedWithin the shell, and arms pivoted at their inner ends to the saidrotary head, and having blades at their outer ends contiguous to theforward end of the shell to be operated upon by the steam or other mediaescaping from the said shell, substantially as set forth.`

2. A tube and line cleaner comprising a shell to receive and conne thesteam or other media and adapted to travel through the flue or tube tobe cleaned, and provided with exterior projections to center the shellwithin the tube or flue, and a rotary cutter carried by the said shelland adapted to be operated by the steam or other media containedtherein, consisting of a spindle jonrnaled within the shell, and havinga head to which arms are pivotally connected carrying blades at theirouter ends, substantially as described.

3. A tube and flue cleaner comprising an inner and an outer shellbetween which a space is formed to receive and confine the steam orothermedia,a spindle journaled within the inner shell and having a head, and

In some instances the steam or other TCO I I O M arms pivotallyconnected at their inner ends` with the said head, and having blades orwings at their outerends to be operated upon by the steam or other mediacontained in the said space between the two shells, substantially asdescribed for the purpose set forth.

4. A tine and tube cleaner comprising a.

shell to receive and confine the steam or other media, a rotary cutter,and a ball and socket joint between the said rotary cutter and shell,substantiall y as set forth.

5. A iiue and tube cleaner comprising a shell to receive and confine thesteam or other media, a spindle journaled in said shell and having aguide at its outer end and a head near its inner end, and wings orblades provided With arms which are pivotally connected at their innerends to the said head and are directed in their inner and outward move-Vments by the said guide, substantially as set forth.

6. In a iiue and tube cleaner the combination with a shell adapted toreceive and confine the steam or other media, of a rotary head locatedwithin the shell, and arms pivoted at their inner ends to the saidrotary head, and having curved wings or blades at their outer endscontiguous to the forward end of the shell, the outer portions of thesaid Wings or blades being unobstructed to receive the force of thesteam or other media as it escapes from the shell, substantially asdescribed for the purpose specified.

7. A iiue and tube cleaner comprising an inner and outer shell betweenwhich a space is provided, the inner shell being closed at its innerendand provided with a ball seat, arotary cutter journaled in the innershell, a ball made in two halves and mounted on the inner end of thespindle, and having ball bearings between the halves, the outer half ofthe ball being secured to the spindle and the inner half being looselymounted thereon and obtaining a bearing on the said ball seat, and a capfastened to the inner shell and completing the socket for the said ball,substantially as set forth.

8. A iiue and tube cleaner comprising an outer shell, an inner shelltapering slightly in length and having exterior projections,

for the purpose specified and having the outer end dared outward, andhaving the inner end closed and provided with a ball seat, a rotarycutter having its spindle projected through the closed end of the innershell, a ball on the inner end of t-he spindle and composed of halvesbetween which are provided ball bearings, the inner half of the ballbeing loosely mounted on the spindle and obtaining a bearing in the ballseat, the outer half of the ball being secured to the spindle, and a capsecured to the closed end of the inner shell and completing the socketfor the said ball, substantially as described.

9. The herein shown and described line and tube cleaner composed of anouter shell having exterior projections, and having its inner endreduced and threaded, an inner shell slightly tapering in length havingits inner` end closed and provided with a ball seat, and having exteriorprojections and its outer end slightly flared, a spindle journaled inthe inner shell and provided at its outer end-with a guide and near itsinner end with a head, blades having arms which are directed in theirmovements by the said guide and which have their inner ends pivotallyconnected to the said head, a ball mounted on the inner end of thespindle and composed of two halves between which ball bearings lareprovided, the outer half of the ball being secured to the spindle andthe inner half being loosely mounted on the said spindle and obtaining abearing on the ball seat, and a cap secured to the inner shell andcompleting the socket for the said ball, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

CYRUS S. DEAN.

Witnesses:

VAN BUREN HILLYARD, FRANK H. BURNS, Jr.

